Firstly can I just say that I currently have very little interest in the national side, as an Englishman I'm truly sorry to say that - but they should have given the job to big Sam. That's just my opinion of course but I think that the football watching public of England would have related to him a bit more than old whatshisname…..? Oh you know who I mean…. that Scottish sounding fella…. Mclaren (yawn), that's him! Anyway, my point is that I won't be talking about the England game, mainly because I can't be bothered.
What I do want to talk about is our season so far. The phrase 'Never a dull moment' has never been so relevant. It feels like we've had a headline a week for the whole season! Let's recap… The McSheffrey saga and the many, many bids it took to land him. The Bruce out saga, reaching its peak after the home defeat to Norwich. The pitch fiasco, an issue we are still waiting nervously for the FA to make a judgement on. (How long do they need?) The low attendance debate and Mr Sullivans attack on the stay-away fans. All of these issues have been aired in public and at times it's felt like a circus. I know Blues fans who actually believe the owners are to blame for the pitch not being up to scratch!! (Ever thought it might something to do with the rain?)
We, as blues fans, are often too quick to criticise our own. For example, some people who work in our commercial department, who, as kids followed Villa, are often the target of some disgraceful abuse, yet this season they have posted the best financial figures in the clubs history (better than any of our premier league years) and trust me when I tell you that without commercial revenue this club would cease to exist. Yet to some it seems that money is irrelevant. I actually can't fathom why the owners of our club have been so berated by the fans this year. Let's not forget the state that this club of ours was in the day they took over. Let's also not forget what position we were in when Brucie took over as manager. As much as we might not want to hear it, we don't have a divine right to be in the top division, we should be - given the size of the club and fan base - but we don't have the right to be.
Needless to say we haven't done ourselves any favours, we all know how the press - national and local - love to laugh and poke fun at us and instead of all coming together as one (like we used to in the old days) we form splinter groups of opinions and bicker with each other.
But the raw fact of the matter is that we all wanted the same thing at the start of the season, we wanted our Premiership status back. Now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that looking like a very real possibility? Are we not 2nd in the table, 2 points behind the leaders with a game in hand? Ok so we've lost some games we shouldn't have lost, and the football hasn't been the prettiest. It's frustrating I agree, but we also have the best record in the division against the top 6 clubs. Everybody raves about the Boingies, Derby and Sunderland, yet none of them have beaten us this season. It may well be a case of us performing better against the bigger clubs (Newcastle 1- 5 Blues) but hasn't that always been the Blues way?
Anyway, there are still plenty of games to go in this topsy - turvy campaign, anything could happen yet. I have every faith in Steve and Eric to guide us back to the top and the inclusion to the squad this week of Andrew Cole is, in my opinion, a master stroke. This guy has real pedigree, he's fit and experienced, and will be of real value to the younger players as the nerves start to jangle.
I feel better now I've said my piece. I don't expect everybody to agree with me; in fact I'd be amazed if I'm in the majority. But I have faith in the people that run our club. Some may say blind faith, who cares? I've always been a positive thinker when it comes to the Blues, it's the only way I know. That's why I've clocked up several hundred miles this season following them around the country, in the hope that they'll send me home ecstatic. After all, isn't that what football is about?
Finally a couple of personal messages.
To the person that called me and my Match day co-worker Vinny nothing more than a couple of market traders….(you know who you are!) we didn't get insulted, we stuck a pony in my pocket and fetched the suitcase from the van!!
And lastly I want to wish a very happy birthday to Vici, she that works main stand reception on match days. I promised her I wouldn't mention how old she was, so I won't. Although there's nothing wrong with reaching 30!!!! Oops! Sorry Vic!
Keep The Faith!